


Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

by rusope



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, F/M, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 16:04:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8807293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rusope/pseuds/rusope
Summary: It looks like "The Force Awakens" is taking its well-known course, until Kylo Ren and Rey meet and fall in love with each other at first sight! This opens up a brand new AU with thousands of possibilities. Will they get together? Which path will they choose, the Dark, or the Light?





	1. Taken

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Kann es wirklich Liebe sein?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8186341) by [rusope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rusope/pseuds/rusope). 



> I am very excited that the translation of this fanfiction is finally taking place. It wouldn't be possible without the help of my dear friend Andie, thank you so much!

Kylo Ren was waiting impatiently for the landing ramp of his command shuttle to lower to the ground. At last. At last he would get what he had been seeking for so long.

With this thought in his mind, he walked down the ramp and headed towards the nearest group of stormtroopers. He didn’t even care about the battle raging around him.

“Sir” he was addressed by a commander who was jogging towards him. “The droid and the girl have been spotted. They are fleeing west, into the woods.”

“Leave them to me” Ren ordered with a slight nod.

He turned and walked in said direction, starting his search. Or rather, his hunt. He greatly enjoyed being so close to his goal. The droid had the map, the map that would lead him to Luke Skywalker.

At last.

 

***

 

It was ridiculously easy to trace that scavenger – and thief, as far as the droid was concerned. He could feel the Force surround him and direct him towards her.

He activated his lightsaber when he was just meters away. It was better to be careful, even if his opponent was inferior to him. He circled a projecting rock and entered a ravine. She was waiting at the other end, blaster raised. She had heard him, and now that she could also see him, she started shooting immediately.

Of course it was easy for Ren to deflect the blaster bolts with his lightsaber. He didn’t even slow down. He thought he could almost smell the fear of the scavenger when she climbed a rock to escape him. He followed her effortlessly. She turned and kept on firing uselessly at him. While he repelled all the blaster shots with his saber, he raised his free left hand and let her freeze using the Force. She was instantly immobilised, as if bound by invisible fetters.

“So you’re the girl I’ve heard so much about” he stated slightly amused. Of course he had hardly heard anything about her. He only knew that she had dared to help FN-2187 – that traitor! – to keep their stormtroopers from catching the droid he sought so desperately. And that they had done this using the _Millennium Falcon_. Of all the kriffing ships in the galaxy it had to be the _Falcon_.

Even though that wasn’t much, it had been enough to gain his attention. He recognised boldness when he saw it. And even though the theft of the droid was infuriating, he also liked the courage of this person. There was something about her…

He approached and started circling her. Now that he was taking a closer look at her, he slowly realised something else. There was much more he liked about her. Her looks. He had stopped caring about these kinds of things a long time ago. And now… He deactivated his lightsaber. Any intention to raise the weapon against her had vanished.

 

Rey was trembling. Even though she knew it was to no avail, she was fighting the invisible bonds with all her strength. She wouldn’t give up, never. Not even when facing the most terrifying enemy. And this dark warrior was a truly demonic opponent. He was tall and strong, clad in black, flowing robes giving him an almost ethereal appearance. But the worst thing was his mask, a metallic grimace in place of a face, partly hidden under the shadows of a similarly black hood. This had to be none other than Kylo Ren himself, one of the most powerful members of the First Order. Finn had told her about him. He had said that even General Hux had to obey him.

She shivered at the thought. But she would not give in.

He wasn’t after her anyway. He wanted BB-8 and she was the key to finding the droid. She was aware of that, as much as she was aware of the danger this put her in. As if he had guessed her thought, he addressed her again.

“The droid. Where is it?” he asked insistently. His voice was distorted by the mask. He probably wanted it to sound more menacing.

She was determined to not give him a single word. She wasn’t even sure if she was able to speak. Probably not. He would know that, so why did he even bother to ask?

He raised his right hand. What was he…

Before she could complete the thought she felt a dull pressure impacting her head. It felt as if her skull was pressed together from the outside, and at the same time almost bursting from the inside. It didn’t hurt, but she still felt like she was shaking with pain. She slowly realised that it was Ren. He was in her head and there was nothing she could do about it.

 

She was brave, she would never tell him where the droid was voluntarily. So he would extract the whereabouts of that little pile of scrap from her head, just as he had done with the Resistance pilot. He entered her mind with all his might. She wasn’t prepared, and the vehemence of his attack made her shiver.

He was rummaging through her mind, and blurry pictures turned into more shaped figures. There! What was that?

“You’ve seen the map!” he said with surprise. Her gaze became even more horrified than before.

At this moment two stormtroopers emerged from the thicket.

“Sir, the Resistance! We need more troops!”, one of them informed him.

He hesitated for a moment. If it was the way he thought, they would spare themselves a lot of time and expense. The droid could be hidden anywhere. And he had already made up his mind anyway.

“Retreat your troops, Commander” Ren answered, and with a glance towards the girl he added: “We’ve got what we need.”

He summoned the Force around him once more, and with but a wave of his hand, he let the scavenger fall into his arms unconsciously. He could have let the stormtroopers drag her back to the shuttle, and that was what he would normally have done. But not with her. She was too important.

So he carried her himself, all the way to the shuttle, up the ramp and into the ship. He was so pleased with himself that he didn’t notice the old man named Han Solo, watching him from afar.

 

***

 

While the last few stormtroopers fled into the roomy interior of the command shuttle and the landing ramp was closing behind them, Kylo Ren laid the girl down on one of the emergency beds in the stern of the ship. The transport was not very big, only used for short transfers, so this was the only comfort there was.

None of the stormtroopers paid attention to him, standing there and looking at the unconscious person on the cot. They were tired from the fight, and glad that the shuttle would leave Takodana any moment and bring them back to the _Finalizer_.

Kylo Ren however felt more alive than ever. He felt drunk with success. Or at least he thought that it was a success. But there was something else, raising his pulse and making the blood rush in his ears. Now that he had the time and leisure to, he felt curiosity arise. He examined the young scavenger. She was a few years younger than him. Her skin was flawless and smooth, a few freckles were scattered around her nose. Some strands of her dark brown hair had fallen and were framing her face. She was slender, almost delicate, but she wasn’t weak, least of all for a woman. Everything about her attracted him, and he had to fight the urge to touch her.

Anger arose in him. How could he even allow this kind of thought? This kind of _emotion_. Of course he had been in love, once, when he was but a boy. In another time. In another life. But that wasn’t him anymore. He, Kylo Ren, was called to higher things. The Supreme Leader had given him the life that he deserved. There was no place for affection or love in this life. These kinds of feelings were something he had abandoned and eliminated long ago. They were a weakness. He wouldn’t allow for weakness. He was striving for strength. Discipline. Power.

No one could be allowed to put him off from following his path.

He turned angrily and stepped to the landing ramp of his shuttle. A slight vibration had told him that they had arrived at the star destroyer. Only seconds later the ramp started lowering. He turned to his commander.

“The prisoner. Make sure she is transferred to _Starkiller Base_. And commander…” He had already turned away, but then remembered something else. “No one touches her. I will be interrogating her in person. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir” the commander confirmed immediately, and he beckoned two stormtroopers to put them in charge of this.

Meanwhile Kylo Ren was already crossing the hangar, more rushed than usual.

He had to make sure that he could get a moment of calmness and meditation. Urgently.


	2. Interrogated

Kylo Ren was pacing up and down the hall, repeatedly passing by the door of one of their interrogation rooms on _Starkiller Base_. He wasn’t ready to face the girl again. He didn’t think that he was nervous (never!), but a certain kind of inner restlessness kept him from entering the room immediately.

He had been sure that he had mastered his conflicting emotions and that he would now be able to follow his mission without further delay (or sentimentality).

The map to Skywalker.

He stopped and stared at the door.

He had found a moment of calmness aboard the _Finalizer_ , an opportunity to gather himself and refocus. But it had been much harder than usual. The face of that girl had appeared to his inner eye again and again, and the prospect of seeing her again had been positively exciting. He had felt anticipation. Not the kind of anticipation he felt when he was going to torture and scare one of his victims, and squeeze any bit of information he needed out of them. No. Just anticipation in _seeing_ her. It was disgusting. And it was pleasant. This discrepancy was seriously unsettling him and he had not yet found a way to handle it.

Angrily he pushed these thoughts away. He couldn’t lose track of his goal now, and that was the map to Skywalker. He, master of the Knights of Ren, would easily be able to conduct a minor interrogation.

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. Then he tautened his shoulders and entered the room. He sent the guard away. For the interrogation he had to be alone with her. _And you want to be alone with her._ He snorted with frustration and closed the door.

 

A noise startled her. She hardly jumped though, because she was strapped down to an interrogation chair and she could barely move. Her hands and feet were in wide metal bonds. Even though she knew it was completely pointless she jiggled and pulled on the bonds. Nothing happened, except for her skin being bruised.

Only now she realised she wasn’t alone. A tall figure, masked and clad in black, was slowly pacing around the interrogation chair. Of course. It was him. Kylo Ren.

A shiver ran down her spine. He had been hunting her through the woods of Takodana. He had made her freeze with a simple move of his hand. She had not been able to move anymore, no matter how hard she tried. She had never seen such a thing, let alone witnessed it on her own body. And now he was locking her up.

But she didn’t allow herself to be afraid. She would resist him and fight to the bitter end.

 

When he stepped in front of his prisoner she glared at him, full of hate. He couldn’t resent her hate. And he liked it. Hatred had been his loyal ally for many years. It gave him strength and power. It drove him.

And then again, there was this other part, deep within him. _You do not want her to hate you_.

He chased the thought away as well as he could. That was ridiculous. What he wanted was the map.

He observed her for a bit longer. She was fighting against the bonds, and her gaze mirrored wild determination. The strands of hair framing her face brought her obvious resolution out even more. He was actually impressed. He had given himself an appearance that was meant to scare people, but this person here in front of him… Even though she was much weaker and vulnerable, she wasn’t afraid. Not now, nor back in the woods of Takodana. She had been startled and rushed, but not afraid. Normally this would have infuriated him, he wanted anyone around him to show a healthy respect for him at the very least.

But he liked that unbending fearlessness in her. He smiled involuntarily. And he instantly scolded himself for that. Fortunately he was wearing the mask so she couldn’t see his weakness, even if it was for just a short moment.

 

He was standing in front of her, and he was staring at her. Or at least she thought he was, for who could really know what the eyes behind that mask were looking at. She was staring back at him defiantly. He couldn’t daunt her. What would being afraid be good for anyway? She was alone. She could hardly move. What did she have to lose? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Thus there was no reason to be afraid.

Instead she decided to act. “Where am I?” she asked challengingly. She had no idea where she was after all. A ship? A planet? Both were possible. She could only be sure that she was in the middle of a fairly lit octagonal room. The walls and ceiling gleamed black. Not very promising.

 

Again he couldn’t refrain from a slight smile, but this time out of sheer amusement. “You are my guest,” he declared, and he was very pleased with himself because he had given her such a quick-witted answer. Without really answering the question, of course.

“We will talk now,” he continued. He thought he didn’t sound as confident as usual, and he angrily clenched his teeth.

“I won’t tell you anything!” she spat at him. She glared at him even more while speaking. He could feel how much she despised him.

“You still want to kill me,” he stated drily.

“That happens when you are being hunted by a creature in a mask.”

It occurred to him that he could remove his helmet to make her behave a little more friendly. But no, that was ridiculous. He wasn’t here to have a merry chat with her. He was here to interrogate her, and his forbidding looks were more useful when doing so than his human face. Even while he was thinking this, a hot ball was expanding in his chest. His heart leapt. He _wanted_ to show her his face. She shouldn’t deem him a monster. He felt torn inside. He knew what he had to do. To fulfil his duty as best as he could, and his appearance was part of that. But at heart he was revolting. The heat he had felt was now spreading through his whole torso. It felt as if his body was burning.

Finally he made a decision. He grabbed both sides of his helmet with his hands to release the locking.

 

Her heart beat faster when she saw how Ren put his hands to his head. He wouldn’t… What would she see if he removed the mask? What did he look like? How mangled would a man like him be? If he was human at all.

Her eyes widened when he removed the helmet in a smooth movement.

He wasn’t mangled.

And he definitely was human. His face was narrow, smooth skin, full lips, and framed by black wavy hair. He was young, much younger than she would have imagined. The eyes which she could see for the first time now, were unusual. Enquiring, attentive, but also somewhat wistful.

Wait, did she like him? He was a monster! He had hunted her, abducted her, imprisoned her! She couldn’t possibly like him.

But the slight prickle in her stomach belied her spite. Yes, she did like him.

She kept staring at him, and he stared back. She had stopped jogging at the bonds a long time ago, and slowly her body and mind calmed down. Any hatred evaporated. Apart from his looks there was something about him that captured her. She could feel it, and she could see it in his eyes. He was… _insecure_.

Insecurity was something she had never known. Sure, she didn’t know where she came from, who her family was. But she had always known exactly who _she_ was, and what she wanted.

But insecurity in others was appealing to her. It was some kind of protective instinct. And this young man – all of a sudden not the masked monster anymore – appeared to be having an inner fight threatening to tear him apart. He was calm on the outside, but he was screaming inside. That was interesting.

 

She kept staring at him, but any trace of anger or defiance was gone. He felt relieved, even though he shouldn’t have cared. He set the helmet aside and stepped towards her. He couldn’t bear to see her in fetters any longer. What difference did it make anyway? The door was locked, she was unarmed. She couldn’t escape anyway.

With a wave of his hand he let the bonds open up and stepped to her side. Disbelievingly she looked down at herself, and then back at him. He grabbed her arm and helped her get up.

“These aren’t necessary,” he explained.

“Thank you” she answered, her voice slightly shaking with surprise. Obviously she didn’t know what else to say.

Again he became aware of the burning heat inside him. It had grown, now that he was near her, touching her. He had never felt that way. He felt as if his stomach would turn, but not in a bad way. In an exciting way.

But then his reason returned.

The map.

His right hand was still holding her left arm. With a vigorous movement he pressed her against the wall. He stood very close to her, his other hand placed besides her right shoulder so she couldn’t evade him.

“The map,” he hissed. “I want it.”

“No.” She shook her head. She had been startled, but composed herself quickly.

Her resistance enraged him. He felt his anger rise, like a fiery ball, burning its way through his intestines. His heart was racing. He pushed his face even closer to hers. He could almost feel her hectic breath on his skin.

“I will take it anyway, with or without your consent.”

He raised his left hand to use the force to penetrate her mind. But he faltered. As if a squall was blowing it away, his fury dissolved. He was overridden by a wave of admiration for her courage, and of affection. Affection. There it was again, this long forgotten, abhorred, forbidden emotion.

What if he kissed her?

 

Rey felt her heart hammering against her ribs. He was standing very close to her now and she could barely look away from his face. In an odd way it was exciting to be this close to him. She wasn’t afraid. She had been startled when his gaze had hardened and he had demanded the map. But now his features were softened again. The corner of his mouth twitched insecurely. He really _was_ torn. She felt attracted to him, and this thought caused a dull feeling in her stomach. It was a feeling she didn’t know. During her life on Jakku there had never been anyone who would have made her feel that way. She had been surrounded by peons, scavengers, farmers, dubious people. Most of them weren’t even human. There had never been anyone who had given her a feeling of belonging or closeness. She was always alone. Permanently alone.

And now _he_ was standing in front of her. Kylo Ren. Initially her worst nightmare. But suddenly he didn’t behave like an enemy or a deadly threat anymore. If on purpose or not, he had shown her not only his humanness, but also his vulnerability. And she was sure this whole situation was as new and unknown to him as it was to her.

A thought penetrated her consciousness, and it was absolutely absurd, because she had never… And she could impossibly… But she couldn’t get rid of that thought anymore.

What if she kissed him?

 

He kept looking into her eyes. They were brown, and so beautiful.

He could hardly bear the tension between them anymore. Slowly he put his left hand – which was still uselessly floating in midair – to her cheek. He leaned forward, just a little bit, because more wasn’t necessary. He was already so close to her. He bent his head slightly and pressed his lips to hers. It was a release of the unbearable tension and he felt a wave of delight engulfing him.

He felt her returning the kiss, felt the gentle pressure of her soft, warm lips. He could even feel the force surrounding and penetrating both of them, more vividly than ever.

 

He bent over and kissed her. She barely knew what was happening to her, and she felt like she would lose the ground under her feet. She closed her eyes.

She could feel the cold leather of his glove against her cheek, and the warmth of his lips. She could smell his clothes. She could smell _him_. She felt like she had finally found what she had never been looking for.

She slowly put her right hand around his waist. She lifted her body from the wall and pushed herself closer to him. He let her left hand go, and she put it on the nape of his neck. Finally she opened her lips, and he didn’t pass up the invitation. Their tongues met and started to tenderly caress each other.

They let themselves be carried away by the swirl of their newly discovered feelings. Seconds turned into minutes, but they lost every sense of time in this grotesquely beautiful encounter.

 

What was he doing?

The thought hit him all of a sudden, and he broke away from her involuntarily. She looked at him in surprise. He wanted to say something, but didn’t know what or how. Was that panic rising in him? He took a step back and opened his mouth to express himself, to explain himself. But he couldn’t get anything out.

It wasn’t important anyway. With a sudden resolve he turned around, grabbed his helmet and hurried out of the chamber.

 

Rey was left behind and didn’t understand at first what had happened. One moment he was kissing her passionately, the next he was running away.

A sceptical voice was speaking up in her head. Of course he’s running away. He did something wrong. You did something wrong. He’s your enemy, not your friend.

She sank to the floor and propped her elbows on her knees.

Thoughts and feelings were spinning around in her head. He had abducted her. He had kissed her. She hated him. And she felt attracted to him. And now he had left, fled, left her behind like a worthless piece of baggage. He had done to her what everyone did.

And her new friends! Finn, Chewie, Han! They had been attacked on Takodana. Maybe all of them weren’t even alive anymore.

The thought hit her all of a sudden, and it was too much for her. It was turning her stomach. Literally. Her body cramped abruptly and she threw up.

She had never felt so miserable.

No, that wasn’t true. But it had been long ago. Very long ago.

She wiped her mouth, tears were burning in her eyes. She turned around and pulled her feet closer towards her body. While she embraced her knees she dropped against the wall and felt the cool metal where her bare skin touched it.

She felt very alone.

 


End file.
